Mary Jane Mucklestone has taken a traditional technique and, along with a group of talented designers, come up with a collection that takes Fair Isle somewhere new.

An assortment of Crochet books.

This is a novel–a story of three sisters and their Tarrytown NY yarn shop when the matriarch of the family dies.

This isn’t the first book, of course, focused on seamless knits, but it’s also a good one.

Who said scarves had to be boring?

And the winners are…

It should seem so obvious, shouldn’t it? Men have feet, too.

You could win a copy!

Stitch directories are great, but they’re usually boring. Usually. And then came Mary Jane Mucklestone who figured out a way to make them not only useful, valuable, resources, but inspiring all by themselves.

Unlike other “vintage knitting” books that have come out over the years (many of which I also love), this is NOT a book filled with vintage-inspired patterns. It’s not even patterns that have been adapted from vintage patterns.

No, this book tells you how to adapt them yourself.

The author writes in the introduction that, “For this book, I tried to capture the heart and soul of New York City, designing knitwear that will take you through the many and varied experiences the city affords to residents and visitors alike.”

The author begins by asking the question, “Is there really a special connection between librarians and knitting? Stereotypically, of course, librarians knit. They also wear glasses, keep cats, and put their hair up in buns. … Still the circumstantial evidence of a link is persuasive.”

Our feet have 26 bones, 107 ligaments, 33 joints, and 19 muscles and tendons, so it’s no wonder we’re all so different. There’s no question that those of us with rounder, shorter, or just plain awkwardly-shaped feet are going to be at just as much a disadvantage at knitting a “one size fits all” pattern as we would be if every single one of us tried knitting exactly the same sweater pattern.